Wednesday 4 March 2020

From StephenS: A mixed bag (77 points)

Hi,

This post is a mix of bits and pieces from the Marvel: Crisis Protocol boxed set.

First up is Spider-Man, the black lines seem to have dulled the red more than I would have liked, but I'm happy with the finished product.




Next is all the scenery and vehicles that come with the start set. The decals are from Green Stuff World. I've painted the traffic lights with the symbols we use here in Sydney, and my son has been having a ball getting all my models to cross the road safely.







Everything is plastic and the scale is all 40 mm. One figure (7), two vehicles (50) and about a cubes worth of terrain (20) should be a tidy (and much needed) 77 points.


Cheers,

Steve

I really love this submission. Spiderman is my favourite superhero and he looks great. i really like the clean colours on the terrain, feels and looks just right. Note the maths says 40mm vehicles are 20 points on the spreadsheet. THis will be a maths issue with the spreadsheet - I blame Peter. I have tweaked your points to 25 for each

Martin

James Lands on Snow Lord's Peak


As gentle as a feather, Sarah's Balloon sets down James' Sherman atop Snow Lord's Peak. The turret pivots and the commander's hatch opens with James' clambering out, gasmask covering his face.


This week's Snow Lord's Peak brought to you by Mount Goodsir, British Columbia.

The Snow Lord scratches his furry head, 'Wow. James, it must have taken A LOT of hot air to get you up here.'
James slides the mask from his face, 'It was really no issue. We had Ray with us. We could have gone to the blinkin' moon with that guy aboard - you just need to take precautions.' He taps the mask with an arched eyebrow. 'This isn't just for the altitude, if you know what I mean.'

The Snow Lord sighs, 'Poor Sarah. I'll have to get her something nice for when she gets back...So, James, what can I do for you.'

'Well, as I'm sure you can guess, I'm here for the reported treasure.'

The Snow Lord nods, 'Ah yes, of course. I think I have just the thing for you. A while back you posted a bunch of 3mm figures for Epic/Titanicus. Yes, super tiny, even for Epic! Anyway, I'd like to see another unit for that project, if you can manage.'

James smiles, 'You got it, big guy. I'll get right on it.' 

He clambers aboard his Sherman and waves to the monstrous blue lord of snow from the cupola. 'I'd wait for the balloon, but I'll risk the descent for a bit of fresh air.' 

He smiles and the hatch clangs shut.

_______________________________________________


from RayR - Millsy's Millpond - Old Figures (55 points)



Salute Wargames Show at Kensington & Chelsea Town Hall was where these and another 100+ Norman figures were purchased. Salute was my first ever wargames show back in 1991 when I was only 23 years old!! I was unlike some of you, quite a late starter, its all Posties fault really. We both bought houses next door to each other in 1990.
I invited Postie round for a Sensible Soccer marathon (its a very old computer game) Myself and an older version of the Rejects used to get together for a  computer games which turned into Risk, axis and Allies and Shogun. The next step we were all invited round Posties for a Wargame and the rest is history!

So Salute 91 was my first show, the main thing I can remember are the crowds of smelly backpack twats hogging what little room there was to shuffle down the aisles. I remember hiding my Salute bag at the train station because I didn't want to be associated with the stinky brigade just down the platform!

Anyway, Normans Saxons and Vikings were my first foray into 25mm, 100+ figures were bought from Wargames Foundry, individually, none of this blister pack crap!!! So i bought exactly what I wanted and didn't have stacks of figures left that I didn't actually want or need???

A few months later I bought a huge painted Norman army at a bring & buy, so some of my figures never got painted................until now of course.


"Paint one or more miniatures from prior to 2000, any genre, any scale. Bonus 10 points if the mini(s) are pre-1990 or bonus 20 points if pre-1980. Extra 10 points if you can provide a backstory on how and where you acquired the mini(s) e.g. I originally bought these to play original D&D back when I was a kid."


3 Normans should be 15 points plus the 30 for the bonus round plus any Millsy bonus points
 for their age?



Sensible Soccer was great, also played NHL 94 on the mega drive which was genius. Love these guys and cool backstory although blaming Postie is a bit weak. He just unleashed your inner geek. Now you would be walking upto the stinkies and starting a conversation of the joy of Donnybrook. Speaking of which....

From TamsinP: Down and Out In Salutesville; Sarah's Balloon 5th Ride (17 points)


Not everyone in Salutesville is benefiting from Prohibition. Just look at these three. Even the kitty looks decidedly underfed.


Most of these unfortunates find themselves hanging out near to the docks where rents for slum rooms are very low and where they can pick up odd bits of work from Brendan Doyle.




As with my previous entry, these figures are from Dixon Miniatures.



For scoring

3 x 28mm foot @ 5 = 15 points
1 x 28mm kitty @ 2 = 2 points

Total = 17 points


And my ever-more-confusing travel map:


I'm going to beg another lift (my fifth) on Sarah's Balloon, to Rousell's Sandbag, ermmm, Sandhill.

More nice work Tamsin. Need to see the docklands in action. Your mapping skills are shocking. Use a pencil and then a fineliner pen. 

From TamsinP: Doyle and His Dockers at Hawkins' Hill (60 points)


In one of my recent posts I introduced you to Doyle's Dockers. In this post, I introduce the man himself and some more of his gang.


Brendan Doyle


Brendan is somewhat of a dandy, although some might say (not to his scarred face of course) that his colour combinations might leave something to be desired - pink shirts with blue trousers and a green-backed waistcoat?





Enforcers





Dockers

Dave "Sergeant" Docherty and Michael "Corporal" Mills

A few years ago two Englishmen, both veterans of the Sudan conflicts, found their way to Salutesville and ended up working for Brendan Doyle on the docks.


Dave Docherty quickly worked his way up to foreman, despite confusing other dockers by referring to the various vessels in port as "camels of the sea" and his insistence on being called "Sergeant". Clearly the hot Sudanese sun has had some permanent effects on him


Or maybe his breakdown is the result of his long association with his colleague, Michael "Corporal" Mills. It took quite some time, but Doyle has finally managed to cure Mills of his latrine digging obsession.



These figures all all from Dixon Miniatures. Docherty and Mills are from the Bootleggers pack - there should be another figure, but I can't find it. Doyle and his enforcers are the Street Gang pack.

They were all primed ready to go for AHPC 7, but I have only just got around to painting them. Which means that they qualify for Hawkins' Hill.


For Scoring

6 x 28mm foot @ 5 = 30 points
Hawkins' Hill = 30 points

Total = 60 points

Not to forget my increasingly crowded travel map:



Dave and Millsy are definitely complete dockers. Lovely work on these guys



From DarrellH Battle of Shrewsbury 1069; Interior Buildings II

Darrell H

Buildings are roughly 5" x 4" and  3.4" x 3" so 30pts

This time just a quick post with a couple of Gripping Beast resin pieces from their Dark Ages range I have completed for the Sherwsbury 1069 game which all going well will be at Partizan II in October this year. Again, these pieces were bought many years ago and I just never got around to painting them up. They are pretty basic castings and solid pieces but this does not diminish the aesthetic look and will not hinder the game.

The upright wooden superstructure and outer structure of the pieces were painted using a craft paint that is more or less the equivalent of Vallejo Model Colour German Cammo Black Brown (perhaps a little lighter) and highlighted up using craft paint creams and finally with Vallajo Model Colour Ivory.

The thatching was done in exactly the same way but starting with a craft paint of a lighter hue and highlighted up a few steps higher in tone than that of the wood.




these are very nice, Shrewsbury is starting to look like a nice place to fight a battle. It's about 1.5 cubes so 30 pts

Martin

From MartinC Schoolboy error at Bromley's Butte (85pts)

So in my last post I submitted all my female figures as I had run out of submission possibilities for the other locations.
Obviously I found some suitable figures in the back of a cupboard. Luckily I am next to the relevant location so it's off to Bromley's Butte with some recon types


These are French Indian War colonial rangers. Good for attacking indigenous types defending their homes


Luckily one has a telescope. The figures are Warlord picked up at a bring and buy


They need some enemies (or allies). These were at the same B and B and are probably Warlord. Also meet the criteria of warpainted Native Americans.

2 Geordie cowboys are walking through the woods when they hear drums
"are they war drums"
"No I think they are theirs"

Translation - in Geordie (Newcastle Dialect Wor = Our)

Sorry

Scores on the doors
11 x 28mm infantry = 55
Location = 30



Nice work on these Martin. Now, if one of those warpainted figures had been hidden in a Napoleonic unit, you'd have got yourself another 5 bonus points.

TamsinP (now handing over the minion reins to Martin)

From NoelW: From Dusk Till Dawn : O’Grady’s Gulch: (25 points)


I suppose many things might be unexpectedly concealed deep in O’Grady’s Gulch, and it might not be polite to enquire about the possibilities too fully. On this occasion, as dusk creeps over our shoulders like a grey cloak, we’re surprised to come across a building. I don’t know how we missed it when we came through here before. An actual building! I didn’t realise the inhabitants of this island believed in buildings. After all, the Lord of the island lives in a cave – and a rather retro cave, at that. We were beginning to believe that no-one had yet evolved the roof-building gene.

And not only have we found a building, it’s a diner, in the middle of nowhere. What the deuce? 

A diner! The absolute height of luxury – doner kebab, hot approximations to dogs, banana-leaf burgers, and full-cholesterol breakfasts complete with blackened scraps of bread that some might generously refer to as “toast”.


 If only we had some cash….

Maybe my sergeant could clear tables or wash dishes?

“I’m not sure about this place,” he says.

“Nonsense! It looks clean and quiet. What could be wrong with it?”

“Too quiet, if you ask me. I can’t hear a single sound or see anyone, or anything, 
moving. Moreover, sir, I’m not a particularly superstitious man, but look at the colours. Red. Black. What does that suggest to you? Sir?”

“You’re being silly, Sergeant. There’s nothing sinister about red and black. And the vampire that chased us a few days ago was in a completely different part of the island. And quite obviously the reason there’s no sound is because they’re short of staff. As that notice in the window makes clear.”

I point to the notice advertising jobs.

“So,” I continue, “stop being so standoffish, get in there and earn us enough for a couple of burgers. Each.”

Carefully, cautiously my sergeant crosses the sidewalk, pushing the door open with the barrel of his gun, and steps inside. The door swings shut. There’s absolute silence in the shadowy interior. To pass the time, I read the job advert on the door:

“New blood needed. Why not stick your neck out and apply within?”

---

I couldn’t find any vignette I should be painting for a friend, so I settled for a piece of terrain instead. This diner is made by Warbases. My friend wants it for the Fallout setting, but perhaps also Future Wars, and maybe zombie games, too. In general I like models such as this to look pristine, “toy”, I suppose, rather than “realistic” just like I generally prefer troops in full dress to campaign dress. So although the diner is intended essentially for games after the world has been consumed in apocalyptinastiness of some kind or other, I’ve painted it as a neat and tidy 50s-ish diner. John, whose model it is, may decide he’d like it weathered somewhat – which would be fine – but I rather like it like this. Perhaps he’ll use it as the centre piece for some Pulp Fiction, instead.




I think the photographs don’t do it justice, in the sense that it looks rather better here than in reality! The floor which looks pretty even, and the script that looks so well defined actually have a little more shakiness in their lines than the photos show. Even so, I’m pleased with the end result.

The model was completely assembled before painting, which turns out to be an error in this case, as it was almost impossible to paint that enclosed space of the foyer. I designed a double deuce motif on paper to decorate the foyer instead, though I’ve not sized it correctly, so some remedial work will be needed.

The Double Deuce sign over the door is painted with neon colours, which I wasn’t too pleased with, as they don’t cover very well, requiring several applications, and you can see that the colour on the dice is rather uneven, even though undercoated white. 



The sign and borders on the rear wall were simply painted with a very small brush and Army Painter colours, which cover well. I thought about using pens for this, but they don't draw too well on the paint surface.


Frankly, I’m surprised how clean a job I was able to make of all these elements, as both eyesight and brush control are a bit of a problem these days.

As for scoring – the model itself is 10” x 7” x 3” = 210 cu ins, excluding the elevated sign and the external pavement. Using these extremities would give 9 x 12 x 6, or 648 cu ins, which means the model is somewhere between 1 terrain cube and 3! (No idea how you reconcile this - but, of course, I rely on our beloved minions to make a fair, reasonable and not at all ad hoc judgement).

I realised also, during painting, that there’s no point (literally) in painting internal detail, despite the amount of work getting those squares looking even and despite the fact that the inside of the piece is (obviously) almost the same volume as the outside. However, I am going to assert that the internal chequerboard is not made of tiles, but of flags, and as there's usually bonus points for flags…



Trying to claim the floor tiles as flags for bonus points? You're really sticking your neck out with that one, you cheeky beggar!

That's a great looking diner Noel. I don't think I'd seen that range from Warbases before, but they'd fit in quite well for my own Judge Dredd project (have the figures but they're not ready for painting yet), so fangs, I mean thanks for making me aware of them.

I'm going to score this as 1.25 terrain cubes to account for the sign and pavement.

TamsinP

From JasperO: Pioniere im Angriff! (45 points)

I barely made landfall at Douglas' Shallows last December and then found that I hadn't planned very well for the expedition to follow. Then came PolderCon which required its own work, so let's see how far I get in the remaining weeks! Machetes at the ready! These Pioniere actually seem to have something else in mind to deal with the flora and fauna of Challenge Island, as they make their way across Cook's Crevasse. At least, I hope they qualify as engineers for that location.


They are, left to right, a metal Black Tree figure digging for something (stones, diamonds, loaded dice), a Warlord metal flamethrower, and a Warlord mine detecting Pionier. I used a Late War plastic Grenadier body for the latter.


Black Tree minis, as far as I have them, seem to be very hit or miss, but I really like the pose of this guy, busily using his entrenching tool. Painted up very easily as well.


The metal arms for the mine detecting Pionier fit the plastic body with the proper application of some force. He painted up nicely, though I'm puzzled why the sculptor decided to give him two watches (or a watch and some other decorative wristband? I guess I'm being square).



Honour bids that I admit to painting the flame for this flamethrower dude a long time ago. I probably stopped because the casting of the left side of his face looked like he'd been on the wrong end of a flamethrower himself. For the Challenge, everything apart from the flame was repainted and the damage hidden as much as possible (note strategic photography angle...). If they apply to Cook's Crevasse and the flamethrower man counts, that's 45 points I think?



Do they apply to Cooke's Crevasse? Well, one of those engineers is looking for mines, mines are tunnels dug into rocks and mine is the beginning of minerals...so, yes, I think these engineers count.

TamsinP